Old Piles of Words Because the word is mightier than the stone.

The Ruins of Machu Picchu

We finally made it to Machu Picchu. So much has been said in so many places about Machu Picchu that we are not really sure where to begin. The site is reputed as the best preserved of all Inca sites, a claim based on the fact that the Spanish conquistadors never found it and neither plundered it nor desecrated its shrines. Otherwise, Machu Picchu occupies a visually stunning setting, sitting on a spur jutting out over a 500 meter deep canyon with near vertical walls. The mist of the cloud forest almost always enshroud the place just a touch, giving it a mystical feel.

We should note that, due to the absence of a written language, just about everything we know about Machu Picchu is speculation more or less supported by scant archaeological evidence, just as with most of the things out of precolumbian South America. The most popular hypothesis about Machu Picchu at the current juncture is that it was a sort of royal retreat for one of the Incas and that it had already been abandoned by the time the Spanish reached Cusco. Other hypotheses speculate that it was a ceremonial center or an attempt to create a hidden outpost of Inca civilization built as the Spanish arrived. Whatever the case may be, Machu Picchu was certainly among the finer of the constructions in the empire's heartland.

That being said, I would like to point out that Machu Picchu is significantly over-hyped. While it is true that the Spanish never pillaged the site, this is rather meaningless to your average visitor who cannot dig for artifacts. The only difference from an archeology geek's perspective is that some religious carving is still in place. Again, this is not that significant: two simple carvings and one sundial are all the art there is to see at Machu Picchu. Further, the site has undergone such sweeping restoration work that it is really quite difficult to continue to qualify it as pristine; the site today really bears little resemblance to the photos taken at the time of discovery. Further, the hordes of visitors to the site make it a bit difficult to sit down and contemplate the ruins. For our money, the ruins of Tipon or Pisac make much better, more impressive and educational excursions into the Inca world.

Nevertheless, Machu Picchu is a very beautiful site. We are very glad to have gone there and would happily go again. We hope these pictures give you an appreciation for this really nice place.

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